Cause and Effect
by Kursed SeeD
Summary: Based on the [Butterfly Effect] WIKTT challenge. While serving detention in the dungeons Hermione finds a book that will send her to a place she has never known and will end up changing the world as she knows it. [SSHG.]


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Title: Cause and Effect

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Author: Kursed SeeD

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Warnings: Coarse Language, Angst, Violence.

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Pairings: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape.

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Summary: Based on the "Butterfly Effect" WIKTT challenge. While serving detention in the dungeons Hermione finds a book that will send her to a place she has never known and will end up changing the world as she knows it.

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Notes: My first attempt at a WIKTT challenge. ::glances around nervously:: This is also my first attempt at a Hermione/Severus, so go easy on me, will ya? I sincerely hope I can make this plot work out. Leave me nice thoughts! This story is set in Hermione's 7th year, after Voldemort has already been defeated.

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Disclaimer: Don't own it, but what I wouldn't pay to lay claim to Severus Snape. ;)

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Chapter One: Detention, Miss Granger!

Hermione Granger awoke with the sun beating brightly on her face. Her hands immediately went up to protect herself from the sun's harsh rays. She groaned to herself and lay there for a moment, wondering how long she had until she had to get up and get ready for her classes.

Something felt wrong, although she couldn't place what it was. Maybe it just felt odd because it was the first time since Voldemort had been defeated that she had managed to get more than three or four hours of sleep. Usually she was either awoken by nightmares of everything that happened, that could have happened, that didn't happen or by Ginny Weasley, who was still greatly suffering from the effects of the war. Last night, though, had been different. She had slept all the way through and, she had to admit, it felt rather nice. A step back to normality after spending so much time in complete chaos. A small bubble in her mind that let her know that, just _maybe_, life could return to resemble what it had been before Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had come marching towards Hogwarts those many months ago.

She moved her hand away from her eyes and blinked several times to get used to the brightness that enveloped her and danced along her walls. She wondered idly why the sun was so bright so early in the morning. Then her gaze landed on the clock hanging on her wall.

'Ten past three?!' She thought wildly to herself, jumping out of bed. 'I am in so much trouble...' She rushed about, throwing her school attire on as hastily as she could manage. She grabbed her school things and rushed out of the door without another thought to the war or anything else.

If her memory served her right in her frantic state, she should have been in her Potions class ten minutes ago at the very least. She sighed to herself as she hurried towards the dungeons. 'Professor Snape's gonna kill me...' She thought miserably. She knew her knowledge and need for perfection irked Professor Snape and that he would most likely jump for joy at the chance to yell at her for making a mistake. And sleeping almost all of the day had most definitely been a mistake.

"Well, I'm glad you finally decided to join us, Miss Granger." A voice drawled lazily as she skidded to a stop in front of the dungeons' doors.   
  
She blushed slightly and made her way over to her seat, keeping her eyes downward and trying to ignore both the speculative whisper around her and the laughter that she knew had to be coming from the Slytherin section of the class.

'I'm fine... I'm fine...' she thought to herself as she slid into her seat. Professor Snape hadn't yet taken points from Gryffindor nor had he given her detention, so perhaps she was off of the hook this time. At least, she hoped she was.

"Do you care to share with the class why you took it upon yourself to disrupt my class, Miss Granger?" Hermione flinched slightly at the way her name rolled off of his tongue, like a dangerous poison.

"I overslept." She mumbled, a heat rushing to her cheeks for the second time that day.

"Speak up, stupid girl!"

"I overslept!" She said, annoyed by the fact that she knew Professor Snape had heard her and merely chose to ignore it and try to humiliate her instead. Hermione had always put up with his constant belittling of her, of his cruel words, but that had been when he had been spying for Dumbledore, when she had only had an inkling of how much stress and pressure he was under. But now Voldemort was dead and gone, yet Professor Snape was still being a regular jerk and Hermione found she couldn't summon any sympathy for him anymore. Besides, all of her sympathy was being used up by almost the entire student body at Hogwarts.

"Watch your tone, Miss Granger." Snape said dangerously.

Hermione continued to stare at the floor in silence. She wanted to get up and scream at him, to tell him to go fuck himself and march right out of the dungeons and back to her warm and safe bed, but found she didn't have the energy to do it. Besides, it wouldn't have made any difference. All that would have happened would have been her getting into a lot of trouble and she had enough on her plate as it was.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor for your rudeness, another twenty for failing to show up to class at time and a final twenty points for interrupting my class." He said coolly and whirled around, his robes flaring up around him as only his did.

Hermione felt the anger drain from her, mindlessly listened as he gave out the instructions for the day and gathered her supplies when it was time. She wasn't even sure what potion she was making, but, then again, she didn't really care either. She just grabbed what everyone else was grabbing and laid them on her table.

"You okay?" Harry whispered to her as he reached over her to grab something.

She nodded listlessly, staring at the cauldron set before her but not looking at it at all. She was so tired. Those of her friends who remained alive, and even some people she didn't even know, had decided for some reason or another that Hermione would be their pillar of strength. Maybe it was because they had mistaken her numbness throughout the final battle as courage, or maybe it was just because Hermione was known best as a step stool. Either way, people came up to her all the time, wanting to talk about what happened, what was happening, what should have happened, or just to cry for a while without the fear of it getting around school. There was never any time left for herself, for her own wounds, and it was beginning to show. She looked worn out, exhausted beyond belief.

"Are you going to do your work, Miss Granger, or are you just going to stare all day and do nothing?"

Hermione bit her lip and began to put ingredients in the cauldron, watching Harry carefully so that she could keep up. It took all of her willpower not to just fall over where she stood. She was usually so adapt in class and ahead of the other students, but she hadn't been able to summon the willpower nor the time to do so lately. She got up, she went to classes, comforted some students, ate, comforted some more students, stared at a few walls, comforted even more students, and eventually was able to crash into her bed for another sleepless night.

"Longbottom!" Professor Snape snarled, rushing over to the boy who was trembling. "What in the name of Merlin do you think you're doing? You are supposed to stir it counter clockwise _ten_ times, _not_ eleven, you imbecile!"

Hermione supposed she should have been paying attention to what Neville was doing and prevented that mistake. She sighed to herself and turned back to her cauldron. She felt like an awful person, like she was failing her friends somehow.

"'Mione... uh... 'Mione? You better watch out, you're about to-"   
  
Harry's urgent whispers were cut short when Hermione's arm reached farther, knocking a vial of purple liquid to the floor. It shattered instantly; the shards flying everywhere as the potion seeped into the cracks of the dungeon floors.

"MISS GRANGER!"

Hermione felt another blush creep up her neck. Perhaps she was trying to break a record of how many times one could embarrass oneself within a day without realising it.   
  
"YOU STUPID GIRL!!! A WEEKS DETENTION FOR NOT PAYING ATTENTION IN CLASS AND WASTING PRECIOUS INGREDIENTS!!" Professor Snape roared, his face slightly red with anger. He whirled around to the gaping class. "Back to work or I'll take 200 points from EACH of you!" He glared at Hermione. "Clean this mess up and try again. Now! You will meet me after class for details about your detention!" He stomped off to his desk, muttering to himself about stupid children.

"Hermione, are you-"  
  
"Fine, Harry." She muttered, waving her wand and muttering a cleaning spell. Instantly the mess was gone and Hermione began to work on her potion, this time offering as much concentration as she could muster.

When her potion was finished she put it in a vial, marked her name on it and set it aside until Professor Snape collected them at the end of class.

She sighed to herself and lowered her head to her desk. Never in all of her years did she think it would be so hard being Head Girl. Sure, she had known she would have to offer counseling to those who needed it, but she had always figured it would be homework problems, or even boy problems. Having someone come to you, sobbing hysterically, and wanting to talk about how their friends and family had died and they were left all alone, well... that was another story entirely.

She herself had managed to escape any great losses. Her best friends were still alive, as were her parents. She had lost an odd friend here and there, but no one she was extremely close to. She had seen people die, had killed people herself and she wasn't sure how to deal with it. Everyone had expected her to grow up instantly because of it, but she still felt like a child. A helpless, no-good child.

"'Mione. Hey, 'Mione, are you listening?" Harry asked, shaking her slightly.

She jumped at his touch and looked at him in annoyance. "What?"   
  
He blinked. "Class is over." He nodded to all of the students quickly filing out of the room.

"Huh? Oh... okay..." The trio stood up slowly, Ron and Harry looking at her carefully. "Tell Professor Sprout I'm going to be a few moments late, okay?"

They nodded, shot her one last worried glance, and walked out of the room.

Hermione took a deep, calming breath and made her way up to Professor Snape's desk. He was emerged in something and didn't seem to notice her. "Professor?" He still didn't acknowledge her, so she cleared her throat and spoke a bit louder. "Professor?"   
  
Professor Snape finally looked up at her in annoyance, "What do you want, Miss Granger?"   
  
"You said I was to come to you after class to find out about my detention." She said, knowing full well that he knew exactly why she was there.

"Well, as much as I would love to assign someone else to deal with you, I'm afraid things are rather hectic these days, so I will have to assign detention to be served at seven o'clock sharp, in the dungeons, every night starting tonight."

Hermione nodded and began to leave the dungeons.   
  
"Oh, and Miss Granger?"   
  
She paused momentarily, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Do not be late, or I will make it a months worth, do you understand?"   
  
"Yes, Professor Snape."

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"What happened today in Potions, 'Mione? You just seemed like you were in another place entirely."   
  
Hermione swallowed the food that was in her mouth before speaking. "I was just tired."   
  
"Yeah, you haven't been sleeping much, have you?"   
  
That surprised Hermione. Harry might have been one of her best friends, but no one had ever accused him of paying much attention to her habits. "Not really." She answered honestly.

"Maybe you should go see Pomfrey and get some Dreamless Sleep Potions."   
  
"Maybe." Was all she said. Harry didn't know, but many people, including Madam Pomfrey herself, had suggested the same exact thing. But Hermione knew she couldn't take such a thing. What happened if someone needed her during the night and she was too dosed up with potions to get up and attend to her responsibilities? 'That wouldn't be too Head Girly.' She thought wryly to herself.

"Yeah, well, Snape's just a bastard for giving you an entire weeks worth of detentions. It's not like you _meant_ to knock it off the table." Ron commented, his mouth full of food.

She shrugged, not really wanting to get into another one of, what she had come to call, "The Snape Conversations." They usually always went the same. Ron and Harry went on for a few hours, blaming Professor Snape for everything under the sun and calling him every name imaginable until they grew weary of it and turned to Quidditch instead.

"I think I should start towards the dungeons." Hermione said quietly, noting the time on her watch. She still had twenty minutes left, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't late in any way. She wasn't up for facing Professor Snape's wrath for a second time that day.

"'Kay, good luck." Harry said, taking a bite out of biscuit.

"Yeah, if that bastard does anything out of line, let us know and we'll give it to him good."

Hermione managed enough energy to roll her eyes as she got up and walked out of the Great Hall.

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Hermione found Professor Snape seated behind his desk, grading papers and muttering to himself about the stupidity of children. "And we're just supposed to _release_ these imbeciles into the wizardry world..."   
  
"Professor Snape?" She asked meekly.

After a second or two Professor Snape looked up from his papers in annoyance. "Yes, what is it, girl?"   
  
"I'm here to serve my detention."   
  
He sighed slightly, annoyed at being interrupted. "Very well, go clean the cauldrons." He raised his left arm, gesturing behind her. "And please do it by hand, I don't want the residue of magic interfering with future potions. You'll find what you need in the leftmost corner of the room."

Hermione nodded silently and went to gather the supplies she'd need. After getting the cleansers and the rags she made her way to the first cauldron and sat down, beginning to scrub.

'Well, it's still better than trying to comfort the grieving.' She thought wryly to herself as she scrubbed with as much power as she could muster, a dark stain refusing to give way. 'Damn this thing, won't it _ever_ come off?'

The pair worked in silence, Professor Snape grading his papers and Hermione battling with resistant stains. It was odd, but somewhat comforting. She knew that Professor Snape did not tolerate crying brats, so for once she didn't have to worry about someone barging in and demanding to be heard. She could go about her business for a change. Yes, it was definitely nice.

Hermione was about halfway through when an owl flew into the room, perching itself upon Professor Snape's desk.

Professor Snape looked up at the small creature, a look of loathing evident on his face. "What do you want?" He muttered, still glaring at the bird.

The owl tilted its head to its side, raising its left leg slightly to show the letter that was attached. Professor Snape resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Very well." He snatched the letter from the owl, inwardly glad as the owl hooted once and flew back to wherever it had came from. 'At least it didn't sit around and wait for a reply.'

Hermione paused in her cleaning momentarily, looking up at Professor Snape in curiosity as he unrolled the parchment. 'Wonder what that's all about?' She thought to herself. 'It must have been pretty important to risk Professor Snape's wrath like that.'

Professor Snape read over the letter and then read over it again, not believing his eyes. "Impossible..." He muttered, taking in the letter a third time. "Absolutely... impossible..."

Hermione almost jumped out of her seat when Professor Snape stood up quickly. "Professor Snape? Are you alright?" She asked carefully as he began to head towards the dungeon doors.   
  
He whirled around at the sound of her voice. He had forgotten she was there at all. "I'm fine, stupid girl." He snapped angrily, not wanting to waste time. He took a deep breath, mentally trying to calm himself. "I have to leave for a bit. Go back to your dormitory, Gryffindor. You will make up for lost time in your next detention." Without another word he strode out of the room rather hastily.

Hermione watched him leave, her eyes wide. Her mind automatically started to go through all the different reasons he would have left so quickly like that, but she quickly stopped herself. 'It's not my problem. I have enough going on without worrying about what he's up to.' She quietly put away her cleaning supplies and began to make her way out of the dungeons.

As she walked past Professor Snape's desk her eyes looked at the folded piece of parchment on their own. She paused momentarily, biting her lip. 'Come _on_. I need to get back. There's probably a line of people waiting for me as it is.' She began to walk towards the desk without even realising it. She wanted to know what was going on; she was sick of being the one in the dark all the time.

She sighed to herself as she realised if she didn't read the letter she'd just spend the next several months wondering what it was all about. She reached over the desk tentatively, a part of her worrying that someone would come dashing through the room the moment she touched the delicate paper, shouting, "Aha! Caught you, you little sneak!"

When no one appeared she grabbed up the letter, sitting down on the floor and reading over it carefully.

"Dear Severus;

There have been some rumours of late that are bothering me. While I'm sure they are nothing more than rumours, I must admit I would feel a lot better if you checked into it for me. 

There are people saying that Lucius Malfoy is gathering troops for another war. As you know, Lucius escaped from Azkaban during the war this year and has not been found since. I don't know how much of a threat he is, but there is talk of him reviving Lord Voldemort and we both know he has enough dark magic hidden away to make that possible.

I'm asking you to find Lucius and see what he's up to. Come up to my office as soon as you get this and we will discuss the possible courses of action.

I'm wholly grateful for your help, Severus, it means a lot to me. Sincerely, 

Albus Dumbledore"

Hermione's eyes went wide as she read the letter again. Lucius Malfoy trying to revive Lord Voldemort?

"Not again..." She moaned to herself, a feeling of sickness wash over her. She didn't want to go through it all a second time, hell, she didn't even know if she _could_. The first time had been so draining; it had left her with almost nothing left inside.

She stared at the letter as her mind began to wander back to the war of its own accord, despite her silently begging it not to.

- Flashback -

A scream.

It was dark everywhere, the only light coming from various spells being cast, both by students and by Death Eaters. Hermione was running as fast as she could, tripping over people lying in the open fields as she went, her stomach threatening to revolt as the stench of beginning decay washed over her. She didn't have time to stop and think about it, to let her sorrow show through, she had to get to him, he was hurt.

It seemed to Hermione like it took a lifetime to reach Ron, who had been hit with some spell, she couldn't tell which in the darkness and confusion. All she knew was that he would die unless someone helped him.

"Ron... are you okay?!" She whispered breathlessly, dropping down on her knees beside him, her face streaked with a mixture of dirt, blood and sweat. She wasn't exactly sure to whom the blood belonged to, it might have been her own.

"Her.... Her... Hermione..." Ron breathed, his face contorted in pain. "It.. It.. It hur... hurts..." He was clutching his side as he spoke.

"No, don't talk. You'll only make the wound worse. Here, let me see." She was pulling at his hand, trying to see exactly what had happened, how bad it was, if he stood a chance. "Ron, please, I know it hurts, but I can't help you unless I can see what's wrong."   
  
"I don't think you'll be helping him at all." A voice, cold. She didn't recognise it.

She dropped Ron's hand temporarily as she whirled around, hand immediately thrusting into her robe as she drew out her wand in preparation. "Who are you?" She shouted.

The faceless Death Eater stared at her for a moment in silence, then spoke. "I don't think that's any of your business, girl. You'll be dead soon." Wand raised up into the air, pointed at her, she knew what he was going to do even before he did it.

"Avada Kedvara!" The words escape her mouth before she even realised it, green light spewing forth from her wand, dropping the grown man instantly to the ground. She stared at him, her mouth opening slightly in disbelief.   
  
So, that's what it came down to. She had killed a man. He had deserved it, it had been completely justified as he would have surely killed both her and Ron if she hadn't acted quickly, but still... it was a human life and she had ended it. She felt the bile rise up in her throat for what seemed like the millionth time that evening.   
  
"Her.....Herm...."   
  
She pushed away the thoughts of the dead man, the man she had killed so easily, and turned back to Ron, pulling his hands away to finally inspect the wound.

- End Flashback -

Hermione shook her head, her eyes clouding slightly as the memory washed over her, so clear it could have happened earlier that day, instead of almost eleven months ago.

Ron had been hit with some kind of explosive spell, Hermione couldn't remember the name of it at the time. Hermione hadn't known what to do, hadn't known any spell to fix it, so she had relied upon Muggle means, tearing a part of her robe off and tying it around his waist as tightly as she could manage, trying to stop the bleeding. Madam Pomfrey had later told her that Ron most likely would have died if she hadn't have done that; no one would have been able to get to him in time. It was an enormous thought to Hermione. 'I saved a life, destroyed another. But, that's war, isn't it?'

Ron had spent two weeks afterwards in the Infirmary, resting up as his body healed. He had spent two months thanking Hermione again and again.

"Really, Herm. I wouldn't have made it without you!!"

But, she hadn't wanted Ron's thanks. Maybe she had saved him, maybe Madam Pomfrey was telling the truth. But what about all the lives she had taken? What about all the lives she hadn't been able to save?   
  
Eventually, Ron had gotten the hint and stopped thanking her. Ron had went back to the normal way of life. The only differences in him was the fact that he had become a tad more serious and cautious, (just a tad, Weasley's had to have some form of amusement in their lives) and that he began to treat Hermione a lot better. No longer was she called a 'know it all' by him or teased endlessly. He treated her with the same amount of respect and care as he did Harry. Hermione still wished it hadn't had to have happened like that.

Hermione bit her lip as she remembered when it all had started, when all hell had broken loose, when it had been just her. She had been so frightened...

- Flashback -

There had been quiet whisperings amongst the staff the entire day. Students were walked to and from their classes by teachers, no one was allowed to be out of the adults' sights. Children spent their time whispering to each other, trying to figure out what was going on, each explanation that surfaced more ludicrous than the one before it.

Hermione hadn't been paying too much attention to it. She figured if the teachers wanted them to know, then they'd know. Besides, she had a major exam coming up in Charms and she hadn't been able to study for it like she wanted to. Her duties as prefect had been tying her up. She had to ace that test. She was Hermione Granger, after all. The world expected no less from her.

It had started out innocently enough. On their way to their Potions class from Transfiguration a random student had walked by the windows and happened to glance outward. Said student froze in her tracks, her face becoming completely white as the colour drained away.

Professor McGongall had been annoyed by the students' actions, she had another class to greet and it was looking like she would be late. She had called the students name repeatedly, Hermione couldn't remember who the girl was anymore, but the girl had stood, transfixed, her eyes staring out the window, her mouth slack in surprise and disbelief, perhaps even fear.

After a few moments Professor McGongall had strode forward, presumably to grab the girl and try to shake some sense into her. But, Professor McGongall happened to look out the window and saw what the girl was staring at so intensely.

The next thing Hermione was aware of was a muffled gasp and Professor McGongall calling out to Professor Flitwick, who had happened to be nearby. Professor Flitwick had come right away, looked out the window, and said, "Go get Dumbledore, Minerva. I shall stay here with the children."   
  
"How could they do this? How did they know, unless..." McGongall's voice had trailed off as her eyes had widen in some realisation. She covered her mouth with her hand and gasped, then picked up her robes and ran. Hermione hadn't been aware that Professor McGongall could run that fast until that day.

"Children, please stay exactly where you are, I don't want anyone wandering off from here." Professor Flitwick had somehow managed to keep his cool, only his eyes betraying his fear.

The silence stretched on for what seemed to be an eternity. Even Draco had fallen silent, not bothering to taunt anyone while he had the chance. No one knew what was going on, no one had seen their professors that scared before, not even when Ginny Weasley had opened the Chamber of Secrets.   
  
Then, everything had shattered. The girl, whom had been silent the entire time, began to scream at the top of her lungs. At first, what she was saying made absolutely no sense, but then Hermione blinked, realising what the girl was screaming about.

The students all stared at her for a moment. When realisation hit, some of them started crying, some ran. Others were glued to the ground where they stood. A few brave ones walked to the window, despite Professor Flitwick's repeated attempts to stop them.

Hermione had been among the number glued to their spots, but Harry and Ron had grabbed her up, dragging her to the window with them. She didn't want to look outside, she didn't want to see what she knew would be there, it would bring the idea to truth. If she didn't look, then perhaps she could write it off as a dream. She could continue thinking that she would wake up at any moment, it would be a new day.

For the first few moments she kept her eyes tightly closed, ignoring Ron and Harry's gasp of surprise, their mutterings which did not reach her ears. But, then... curiousity had gotten the better of her. One eye opened, focused. Both of her eyes flew open and she was just as transfixed as the girl who had first spotted them had been. It couldn't possibly be real.

There were Death Eaters. What seemed to be thousands upon thousands of them, everywhere she looked, slowly making their way towards the school.

'But, that doesn't make any sense. What about all the magickal guards? How can they possibly hope to get through those? Then again, how did they even manage to get here? Are they really that foolish? Dumbledore will stop them, I'm sure of it. They'll never get in, they won't hurt us, nothing will happen. I'm going to wake up at any time.'

But, then... it hadn't been a dream... they had...

- End Flashback -

Hermione shook her head, not wanting to relive it again. It hadn't been until the end of the school year that they had found out exactly what happened. No one had wanted to tell the students, but the students had demanded it. They had lost loved ones, had lost what remained of their innocence, everyone had blood on their hands. They more than deserved to know why that had happened in the first place, why the Death Eaters had been able to get onto Hogwarts grounds.

Dumbledore had given a speech in the Great Hall, to students and parents alike. Someone had been going around slowly weakening the magickal guards. The Professors hadn't noticed it until it was too late. _"That was our fault... we were too wrapped up in a battle plan that we didn't pay enough attention to our defenses..."_ That was Dumbledore's explanation. That was supposed to make everything okay. _"An old man's mistakes."_

It hadn't taken very long to figure out who the culprit was, or rather, culprits. The two no one suspected, the two that were supposed to be too stupid to do anything of real value or harm.   
  
Crabbe and Goyle.

Their own ambitions, and some 'urging' from their fathers, had cost a lot of lives. Hermione wasn't even sure what happened to the two once everyone had figured it out. All she knew, all anyone knew, was that they weren't at Hogwarts anymore. It was a general consensus amongst students that the pair had been sent to Azkaban, presumably for life. Some even said they received the Dementor's Kiss, or they were scheduled to. That thought had always made Hermione shudder. The Dementor's Kiss was the most horrible thing that could happen to a person as far as she was concerned, but... she had to agree with everyone. If anyone deserved it, it was Crabbe and Goyle.

Hermione remembered... everyone had suspected Draco as well. After all, Crabbe and Goyle were _his_goonies. Common logic alone would have marked Draco as guilty.   
  
But, oh, how Draco had thrown a fit when he had heard everyone suspected him.

- Flashback -

"If you stupid mudbloods have anything to say, say it to my damned face!! I am so sick of hearing about how I did this and about how I helped them! Well, screw you all! I don't lick **anyone's** boots, including that filthy creature! You think I helped Crabbe and Goyle? You think I brought the Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort's wrath down upon the school? You all can go to hell! I would not serve a mudblood like him even in hell! If I wanted to destroy Hogwarts, I wouldn't use the two biggest idiots in the world! I damn well would have done it myself! So, either you stop your damned whispering, or you bring it to me! I'll show you **exactly** how I feel about you!"

- End Flashback -

It hadn't been the best speech in the world, and Hermione had only hated Draco more for the mudblood references, but, deep down, she had gained a little respect for him, in some twisted way. He had stood up for himself, he had refused to let the whisperings become truth, he had made an attempt to set everyone straight. 'Although some will always find him guilty...'

Hermione sighed to herself and stood up, her legs aching from remaining seated for so long. A quick glance at her watch showed her that she had been lost in the past for at least two hours. She sighed to herself and moved back to Professor Snape's desk, leaning over to place the letter back where it had been.

She wasn't paying close enough attention, she supposed, as she placed the letter back on the desk. In her concentration to make sure no one could tell the letter had been disturbed and read by eyes it wasn't meant for her hand brushed against something that lied on the edge of the desk, sending it falling to the ground.

Hermione paused for a second, wondering if someone would hear the noise and come in to see what had happened, to see who was messing around in Professor Snape's classroom when they shouldn't have been.   
  
But no one came.

Hermione rolled her eyes slightly and bent over to pick the item up. It turned out to be a small, plain hardback black journal. Hermione opened the book without really realising it, thinking to herself that it was probably lesson plans or something.   
  
Later on, she would recall that all the pages were blank, made of what looked to be antique paper, the edges beginning to fray slightly. The outside looked completely new, but the pages within seemed as if they had been created a century ago or so.

The only thing she was aware of at that moment, though, was a tingly sensation and an overwhelming sleepiness. She blinked several times, trying to focus, but her mind was running in thirty different directions all of a sudden. She was vaguely aware of her eyes closing, even as the back of her mind was screaming out in fear and confusion. 'I.. I'm so tired... but... what's happening? I... I can't...'

All went black.

-

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Additional Author's Notes: Okay, let's see if I can explain this properly.

About Hermione: Hermione has been through a lot, that much is obvious. Now, I have never been through such things, but I have had people I know die. I'm working with how _I_ reacted from that. A basic depression, I suppose you can call it. You'll notice Hermione's mood swings change a lot. One moment she's rushing about to class, angry with Snape, and then she's too tired to even make a simple potion. You'll also notice her mind wanders a lot, often in different directions. I hope I'm not making it too confusing, but then again, it _is_ a confusing process, so...

About the War: Not a lot of detail here, but I didn't particularly want a lot, either. I know some of you have to be wondering exactly what happened in entirety, but I promise if you give me time and a few chapters, a clear picture will emerge. (Or so I am desperately hoping!!)

About Viktor Krum: More about him in later chapters, as well. I promise you, I'll explain everything in due time. I originally had planned on talking about him, but Hermione wasn't having any of that, so alas! He has to wait. I wrote about what she wanted to, otherwise she told me I'd never see the end of this chapter!   
  
Now, push that little button in the corner and feed this monster! Review, but remember, nice thoughts only! I have stolen Draco's wand and I am not afraid to use it! =D

- Many thanks to Zencreation for beta-reading this! Go out and read her stories... NOW! -


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